We stayed at the Best Western Globus for 7 nights in April 2009. What a great find! We booked the online rate, which offered an excellent deal. The hotel is located in the University area of Rome.
Our family room was huge, with two queen size bed, which is rare for Europe. It was very clean, and the bed and pillows were comfortable. The room had wood laminate floors, two queen size bed, a dresser with an in-room safe, a little refrigerator which they stock with waters, soda, and juice and is complimentary. We also had a small sofa, and the curtains were attractive, too. The hotel was very contemporary, and felt clean and new. There were four of us (with two children), and we felt very spacious. We did not feel as though we kept bumping into each other.
There is a bus (#310) right across the street that you hop on, and it brings you to Termini in under than 10 minutes. You can buy tickets at the Tabacchi shop near the bus stop. At the Termini, you can simply transfer to another bus to get directly to the sights. Coming back, the bus stopped a few meters away from the hotel. It was so convenient, and inexpensive (1 euro for bus ride – good for 75 minutes – includes all bus transfers). The subway (Polilinico stop on the B line) is about a 6 minute walk (and this is walking with a 7 and 5 year old!)… not far at all. My children really enjoyed taking the bus and subways. It was such an adventure to them.
There are inexpensive restaurants and food places near the hotel – there is a great gelato place across the street! I thought the front desk staff were really nice – very smiley and friendly. There is a communal computer that is available for free in the lobby. A lot of people used it to send a quick email, which I did, too. Prior to booking, I read that the hotel has a Sony PS2, so I brought some games along, and requested it when we got there. We received it when it became available. They supplied it with several games. It turns out that the US version of games cannot be played on there. But it was nice that they offered it to us. The hotel also had a children movie night, where they offered a showing of Spiderman, or High School Musical, or Herbie, and had chips and soda. That was a very nice touch, I thought. Their complimentary breakfast was delicious. They offered some cold cuts, like ham or turkey slices, and two cheeses, as well as some delicious pastries and cakes. They also have cereal, fruit, yogurt, coffee, and steamed milk. You can request a cappuccino or espresso from the staff. We never found the breakfast room crowded. The breakfast room was very chic, new, and they offer newspapers to read, games for the kids to play (I guess during dinner, but we never ate dinner there).
They even had an outlet in the bathroom that you can use (if you are from the US) to recharge your camera, camcorder, or Nintendo DS (in our case) – it could be switched from 110 to 220 V. You didn’t even need to bring an adaptor! We brought one along but noticed it did not work for the Nintendo DS, and their bathroom outlet with the built in adaptor was a lifesaver. The bathroom was large, clean, with a tub, shower. They had 4 LARGE (almost beach towel size) towels for us.
All in all, a fabulous hotel, not only for families but for anyone! We put our passports, keys in the in-room safe and never had an issue. We felt very secure there. They also have a great security system. With their room key entry system, they can tell if the room door has been opened. You use the key to get in, and when inside, you keep the key at the inside slot of the door. My husband stepped out to get some food one night, and we must have not had the key at the slot (we didn’t know we had to do it), and their alarm must have sounded since they contacted us checking our names, and if everything was okay. I also noticed a security person walking around the hotel, too.
We originally had wanted to stay near Piazza Navona, but it was near impossible to find a hotel room that fit four people, and the ones that did cost at least 2 ½ times this place, and was not nearly as nice, or had as many amenities. I am so glad we came across this hotel. Our children and we had a wonderful time, and it did not cost us a fortune.
The only negative to us was that it was noisy outside. We didn’t hear many ambulances going by, but the cars were noisy. It could also be contributed to the fact that we had the windows opened, since it was warm in the room. Their air conditioning system was not turned on yet since it was only April. However, the noise did not really keep us up at night since we were so tired from all the sightseeing that we slept through it.
If you are hesitant on staying here, don't worry at all. It was great, and I hope this helps answers any of your questions.